Hot Topics:

Open Forum: Letters to the editor published Dec. 27, 2012

Posted:
12/26/2012 11:56:20 PM MST

Open Forum

Focus needs to be on mental health, not guns

To the editor:

Let's set the record straight: In Colorado you can't fill out a form on the Internet and get a concealed carry permit. You must complete a course from an NRA or POST-certified instructor, file an application with your sheriff, background checks by the sheriff, CBI and the FBI prior to issuance. These are well defined in the Colorado Revised Statutes.

To blame the NRA membership for the acts of

unstable individuals is no different to accusing every member of AAA for auto accidents, anyone that has bought an alcoholic beverage for every DUI accident, everyone whom has donated to an alumni association or bought a sports ticket for the acts of a pedophile in the program or those whom have attended a house of worship or put money in an offering plate for the actions on a few predators whom prey those in their sacred care and trust.

I submit it is a society that makes heroes of a sociopath on TV who kills "bad guys" only, allows children to become desensitized to violence through movies and video games, glorifies lawbreakers because they are cool and makes sensational stories out of celebrities who abuse the law and others yet walk free because of who they are versus feeling the justice of the system.

A society where mental health records are protected by HIPAA that law enforcement and the industry can't get validation of "no mental health issues" during background checks. Where antidepressants are prescribed like candy, yet no record is available for background checks or driver's license for individuals potentially at risk.

Advertisement

Where personal responsibility and respect for others has been replaced by "get all l can and the heck with everyone else as long as I am happy."

As a professional firearm instructor, gunsmith and retailer it is not the legal and mentally healthy citizens or their firearms that is the problem. We need to fix our mental health care system, change how we deal with lawbreakers, stop plea bargaining for the sake of speed and budgets to mention a few.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.